The Unknown Sender
by Lady Akuma Wolf
Summary: While in hiding after the disbandment, the cyborg members of Section Nine recieve an anonymous email containing three suicidal sounding messages. Only question is, who sent it and can they stop them before they act on their threats voiced in the poems?
1. A Messangerless Message

A/N - Hello… I don't know what to say here, other than this takes place after the disbandment of Section Nine near the end of the Stand Alone Complex, season one.

**I do not own GitS **-- literally. My friends introduced it to me, so I have no way other than my very poor memory as to the exact events around this time frame and as I don't even own any of the GitS episodes and I am on dial-up so I can't watch them on-line, so the events in my fanfic might not be accurate to the real thing…

Anyway, I do happen to own the poems. In fact the first one shown I wrote about myself (the first six verses are original to what I wrote) when I wasn't feeling good and just added a few more verses.

Please read and review, but be nice as this is my first attempt at GitS fan fiction, or any other (so far). Any and all signed reviews will be answered as soon as possible. I think that a writer who does that shows how much they appreciate readers who review, and that is the kind of writer I will do my best to be.

Rated for bad language (mainly from Batou, the naughty boy - erm, cyborg) and some angst, as this is an angst fanfic. (That makes sense, right?)

Anyway, enjoy and please review!

**Chapter One**

**The Messengerless Message**

"How much longer do we need to stay here in hiding?" Batou demanded from his position against the wall, arms folded across his broad chest. "We've been here for _ages_, and there is absolutely _nothing _to do. Nothing at all."

Ishikawa laughed from his spot in front of the computers. "Well, if you're that bored, Batou, I can always bring up the satellite videos and we can watch you bawling your eyes out over… _Motoko_."

"Shut the hell up!"

Saito, Boma, Pazu and the other part- and full-cyborg members of Section Nine chuckled from their various locations around the room.

"Batou can't bawl his eyes out, Ishikawa." Saito pointed out casually, making sure Batou was still in his spot against the wall across the room from him and not close enough to be in hitting range of the full-cyborg. "He doesn't have eyes. Real ones, anyway."

"Don't you guys have anything better to talk about?" Batou spat, pushing himself off of the wall.

"Uh, oh. You two are dead meat," Pazu observed, a small smile on his normally impassive face. "This will be interesting."

A sudden beeping from the computer interrupted anything Batou or the others might have said, either in retort or in defense. Frowning, Ishikawa turned to the computer screen, pulling down the overhead viewer and placed it over his head. He began typing. "It's an e-mail file entitled, 'To the Members of Section Nine. May your Good Deeds Never be Forgotten.'" He glanced back at the others. "Someone other than the Major and Aramaki knows we're not dead or in prison. And that we're all here."

"Who's it from?" Batou asked as he leaned over the back of Ishikawa's chair, their argument momentarily forgotten. The others gathered around. "And what the heck is in it?"

Ishikawa's fingers danced over the keyboard as he checked the file for traps, viruses and any other unpleasant things; it was clean. But there was one thing that bothered him, however…

"There's no sender name, and no way to track who sent it or even where from without it taking an hour or two." Ishikawa said, leaning closer into the viewer as if by doing so the answer would become apparent. It didn't. "It only has traces from this computer. I'm impressed."

"So in other words whoever sent this is very good," Saito finished. "They must be to impress you."

Ishikawa nodded. "Yeah. But there's nothing bad on it or in it, so I guess it should be safe to open, hmm?"

Murmured agreements came from the men behind him. Hitting enter, three pages came up on the screen.

"What the frickin' hell-" Batou started, but cut himself off as he read what was written on the screen.

"A _poem_?" Saito said incredulously. "Who would send us _poetry_?"

"Read it. And there's three poems, by the way, though none of them really give any clues as to who sent the e-mail other than they don't agree with what was supposedly done to us. What they _believe _was done to us. It also conveys that they're going to do something about it." Ishikawa trailed off as he scrolled down the first page. "That or they think _we_ might do something."

It was hand-written on a plain piece of paper with only a slight imperfection from the scanner of the sender's computer. The handwriting was normal-looking enough, but the words of the poem soon answered any questions the gathered Section Nine team had about what Ishikawa was talking about.

_**Empty windows**_

_**closed shutters**_

_**behind those pale eyes**_

_**Where have you gone?**_

_**What has become of you?**_

_**Why did you leave this lifeless shell**_

_**behind?**_

_**Where did you hide your soul?**_

_**Empty heart**_

_**Shattered spirit**_

_**White skin**_

_**Pale scars**_

_**What could've happened**_

_**to make you this way?**_

_**Who left you to fall?**_

_**Who left you to cry**_

_**all alone?**_

_**Empty eyes**_

_**No tears**_

_**Not anymore**_

_**You can't cry**_

_**For those you loved**_

_**and lost**_

_**No one sees as you**_

_**hide your fears and sadness**_

_**from the world**_

_**even yourself**_

_**Empty soul**_

_**Voiceless ghost**_

_**Marked wrists**_

_**Standing on the highest story**_

_**you spread your broken wings**_

_**think you can fly?**_

_**If you fall, will someone catch you?**_

_**Or will you jump with your wings tucked in?**_

_**No more can you hide**_

_**From what has happened**_

_**You are empty**_

_**Empty of everything**_

_**that makes you who you are**_

_**Nothing is left**_

_**But a spark**_

_**Will someone come**_

_**and bring back the fire?**_

_**Will someone lay their hands on**_

_**your broken wings and broken heart**_

_**and heal them?**_

_**You are empty**_

_**Empty yet no one sees**_

_**your life fire is dwindling**_

_**a lone candle fluttering in the wind**_

_**Blood has been spilled**_

_**Lives are gone; lost**_

_**You can't take it anymore**_

_**There is only one thing left to do**_

_**You are empty**_

_**Empty of all emotions**_

_**But despair and revenge**_

_**Wasting your life**_

_**To put to right**_

_**What you lost**_

_**Paying the price**_

_**with your life**_

****

"Are you sure there's no way to trace this e-mail quickly?" Pazu asked, arms crossed over his chest. "It sounds like whoever sent this is in a very unstable state of mind. They wrote this suicidal-sounding poem, and even wrote it from a third-person perspective. _That _is spooky."

"The person who wrote this might not even be referring to themselves," Saito pointed out. "They might be referring to us, thinking that we're free to seek revenge. But is there any way to trace it?"

"No, there isn't any way to trace this quickly. At least, not one that won't take a long time to track back to the original source." Ishikawa said, reading the second page on the small screen within the headpiece, his frown deepening. "If you thought the first page was bad, wait until you read the second page. It gets worse."

A/N - Yes, I know, it's painfully obvious WHO sent the e-mail, but this idea wouldn't get out of my mind until I got it down so here is the first part. What do you all think?? Review, please!!!


	2. It Gets Worse

Wordlessly, the men of Section Nine read the next poem as soon as Ishikawa brought it up onto the main screen. It, too was hand-written in what appeared to be the same hand as the first. It also had the same slight imperfection from the scanner.

* * *

Thoughtlessly you were thrown away

forfeited because of a mistake

made by those in power

who didn't want face up

to their mistakes

* * *

Ostracized by those you protected

hated by those you risked you lives for

scorned by the population

thrown away like trash by those you served

murdered and imprisoned by your fellow people

* * *

Gone are each of you

lost to the world

why the hell did this happen?

why were you all chained to the shadows

and never allowed to see the daylight?

* * *

Useless as I was before all this

I hope I can do my best

to set this all right

taking down the ones

who took you all away

* * *

Sacrificed like pawns

you all were taken

discarded like flawed jewels

vanishing without any traces

leaving me behind

* * *

Always will I remember each of you

for what little time I have left

I know you'll never read this

but it makes me feel better knowing

that I will take down your killers with me

* * *

"Gee, it's getting worse." Batou muttered.

"That's what I said earlier." Ishikawa retorted tersely. "The last one is even worse than the last two."

"What could be worse than these two?" Saito asked, his one normal eye wide. "The last two were bad enough."

"I almost don't want to know." Pazu said grimly. "But let's see what the last page says. Then Ishikawa can try and trace it."

"The way it is written makes it seem like the writer doesn't know we're free and alive, like we thought after reading the first poem. He or she just sent it to where we used to work." Boma said.

"But it does sounds like the writer is going to be the one seeking revenge," Saito pointed out. "and not us like we thought earlier."

Ishikawa glanced back at him. "Then we have to stop them."

"Wait a moment," Batou said slowly. "You don't suppose that this is some…trick or whatever of the Major or Aramaki's to keep us entertained and saved from death by boredom, do you?"

His fellow cyborgs were silent for a moment. Finally Ishikawa shook his head. "I don't think either of them would sink so low as to send us this sort of message, Batou. No, these are from someone who admired what we did, and who probably had never known any of us."

"But who does have an extreme talent with computers," Pazu finished.

"Just bring up the last poem, Ishikawa." Said Saito quietly.

"Hold it," Ishikawa said, "You don't suppose…" he trailed off, looking back at his fellow cyborgs and Section Nine members, eyebrows raised in silent question.

Batou shook his head. "No. He isn't like this."

* * *

A/N - well, here is part two. Don't forget to review!! 


	3. A Name Hidden in a Message

Well, here is the final chapter. I tried to get it up a few days ago, but it wouldn't let me upload it.

* * *

Ishikawa paused, hand suspended over the keyboard.

"For goodness' sake, Ishikawa." Batou growled. "Open the bloody thing."

With a sigh, Ishikawa shoved the headgear up out of the way. "The last one is worse. A lot worse. There is no doubt in my mind that these poems were not written by the Major or Aramaki. There is no way on earth either of them could voice these feelings in this form, and with such vehemence. " He reached over to hit the button. "Some of it near the end sound familiar, but I can't place it. See if it sounds familiar to any of you guys."

He hit enter, and the last page of the message appeared on the screen.

It came as some relief that this one, at least, was written completely in first person. But Ishikawa was right. It was much worse:

Nothing left to lose,

Everything and nothing to gain

Throwing my life away

To set to right

What was taken from me

Can't bring you back

Can't reverse Time or Fate

Curse them both for what they did

For spinning back

Destroying you who fought

Trying to do nothing but good

Yet you are all gone

And the evil still remains

Everything is lost

One thing left to gain

Revenge

Revenge on the ones who destroyed you

You who I loved like family

You who were always there for me

You who unknowingly protected me

Despite who and what I am

I will bring those who did this to justice

My last act as a fellow soldier

As a comrade

As a friend

Lost lives

Gained contentment

Content that I have done my best

To set your needless sacrifices to right

One old gun

Six killer bullets

One evil human

One single target

One good reason

One way in

No way out

My friends at Section Nine

Seems like forever since I last saw

Your precious faces

Those who are not there already

See you on the other side

I'll be waiting

Goodbye

"We really need to find out who sent this, and soon." Saito commented as he leaned against the computer's huge hard drive. "He or she's going to kill some-"

"Go back to the second poem." Batou ordered, interrupting Saito. With a curious look at the cyborg, Ishikawa obeyed.

Batou re-read the poem, brow furrowed. Then he cursed. "Holy shit in hell. That - that _idiot_. That bastard really thinks… " he trailed off as words failed him.

"What?" Saito and Pazu chorused. "Do you know who it is from?" Saito added.

Batou pointed at the screen. "Only the first letter of the first word of the first line of each paragraph is capitalized. Each line should be capitalized, the way it's written. The first word on each line in the third poem is capitalized."

"I didn't know you were so into poetry, Batou." Ishikawa said, amused despite the seriousness and gravity of the situation.

"I'm not! It's simple grammar and punctuation." Batou growled. "Look at each of those letters capitalized letters in the second poem, top to bottom and tell me what they spell."

"T-O-G-U-S - oh, hell." Saito muttered. "Ishikawa was right. The messages are from Togusa."

It took only mere seconds for the full meaning of whom it was from, their content and the only thing they could mean hit the gathered cyborgs like the weight of the world being dropped on them.

"He - he's going to kill them," Ishikawa murmured, horrified. "He's going to kill the people he believes responsible for our supposed deaths and imprisonment. 'One way in, no way out.' Togusa will lose his life doing so. He knows it but doesn't care. And 'one old gun'. Togusa always carried that old handgun as if it's a treasured heirloom. That's him all right." He whirled around in his chair. "Batou, go st-"

The white-eyed cyborg was no where to be seen. He had already left.

Batou wasn't about to let Togusa get himself killed. He would rather be destroyed than see the young man waste his life over something that wasn't entirely true. Given, what had been done to them in the cover-up disbandment was awful, but they were still alive and together. All of them.

Except for Togusa. He had been left out in the dark, feeling worse every day he was alive and free, thinking his friends were not.

Batou growled angrily as he drove his car, speeding to where he knew Togusa would be. It was now painfully clear that Togusa had suffered much more than Aramaki, the Major, he or any of the others had thought he would over the supposed disbandment of Section Nine. They had been ordered not to contact him by both Aramaki and the Major. They hadn't been happy about it and had certainly missed Togusa, though they hadn't been terribly bothered over it. They were all alive and safe, and Togusa was alive and safe. Everything was just fine.

But apparently Togusa did not agree.

So Togusa's mind, twisted with grief and anger formulated a plan. The

ex-detective was so desperate to put their memories at ease, and thus end his own existence he was willing to die to at least attempt to kill the person or persons responsible. Throwing away his own life over something that never truly happened.

But Togusa didn't know that. Just as the poems had indicated he was planning on taking down - on killing the political leaders responsible, getting himself killed in the process. It seemed he had valued them all much more than they had ever realized. Never had any of them thought Togusa, the only natural member of Section Nine would sink so deep as to want to end his own life. If they had, they would've contacted him sooner despite the orders from Aramaki and the Major. None of them had realized the full extent of how much Togusa truly valued them as friends and, seemingly, as family.

As Batou sped down the freeway, the words in the e-mail haunted him, taunting him with scenarios of what would happen to his friend if he didn't make it. Shuddering, Batou tried, and failed, to think of something else. Blood pooling around Togusa's thin frame, bullet holes riddling his chest, just like after the Sunshine Foundation incident, but so much worse. The light fading from his amber eyes, not seeing him, Batou, who had come to stop him. A friend who cared about what happened to his non-cyborg comrade.

Togusa had written three poems he thought would never be read by anyone, let alone by the people it was written in memory of. It was his personal way of saying goodbye, of telling the memories of his friends what he intended to do

Suicidal murder.

But Batou wasn't going to let his friend do that. He _refused _to allow that to happen. He just prayed he wouldn't be too late to stop him. If - _when _he stopped Togusa, he would make sure the man never had to go through what he and the others had put him through.

Ever.

He hoped.

* * *

Well, there you go. The next part is in the anime when Batou finds Togusa. I think. Will be unless I can find a way to write a sequel to this part. Don't forget to review!!


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